Delegate powers, open presidency to Nigerians, group tells Tinubu

The Convener of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Ideological Group, Hon. Bamidele Atoyebi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to enforce structured delegation of authority across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and establish a direct channel through which Nigerians can communicate their concerns and ideas to the Presidency.

Atoyebi said the measures were necessary to address what he described as the excessive centralisation of decision-making, prolonged absence of some political appointees without proper handover and the growing inaccessibility of senior government officials.

Atoyebi said in a statement that the President’s efforts to decentralise governance could be undermined if ministers, managing directors and other heads of government institutions continued to concentrate operational authority in their own hands.

According to him, “Governance in a nation as dynamic and complex as Nigeria requires vision, efficiency, and structural agility.”

He noted that President Tinubu had consistently signalled a commitment to decentralisation through initiatives including the push for state policing, decentralisation of the power sector and efforts to recalibrate responsibilities between the Exclusive and Concurrent Legislative Lists.

However, he said a “troubling disconnect” persisted within some MDAs, where decision-making remained excessively concentrated at the top.

“Rather than keying into the President’s decentralised vision, many political appointees, whether Ministers or Managing Directors, have hyper-centralised operations within their respective domains,” Atoyebi noted.

He explained that in some institutions, routine administrative processes, procurement approvals, payments and other critical government activities could not proceed without the personal approval or signature of the head of the organisation.

Atoyebi warned that such a system could paralyse government operations whenever a minister, managing director or other senior official travelled outside the country or was otherwise unavailable.

“When a Minister or MD travels abroad for weeks, essential government business grinds to a complete halt,” he said.

“Procurement processes sit in limbo, approved projects remain unexecuted, and contractors go unpaid—not always due to a lack of released funds, but because the sole individual with the authority to sign off is absent, having left no formal handover or delegated power behind.”

He argued that senior officials who travelled without formally transferring authority to a Minister of State, Permanent Secretary or other designated successor were effectively weakening the institutions they were appointed to lead.

Beyond the issue of delegation, Atoyebi raised concerns over what he described as a growing culture of inaccessibility among political appointees.

He said citizens, professionals and policy advocates often encountered locked doors, unanswered courtesy letters and difficulty securing access to senior government officials, sometimes for months or even more than a year.

“What many appointees fail to realise is that the citizens, professionals, and policy advocates seeking an audience are often not coming to ask for favours; most are coming to offer solutions,” he said.

According to him, such individuals often bring “actionable ideas, operational insights, and fresh perspectives” capable of helping government institutions fulfil their mandates and support the success of the administration.

Atoyebi said shutting out such citizens deprived the government of valuable intellectual capital at a time when the country required practical solutions to its challenges.

“When patriotic citizens with aligned visions are routinely shut out, one must ask: what happens to the average Nigerian in desperate need of responsive governance?” he queried.

To address the challenges, Atoyebi urged President Tinubu to issue a firm administrative directive requiring all MDAs to establish clear and decentralised operational workflows.

He proposed that every political appointee should designate a competent second-in-command with clearly defined authority to handle routine operational, procurement and financial matters whenever the principal officer was unavailable.

“Governance cannot be treated as a one-man show, nor can public service be tied to an individual’s physical presence,” he said.

Atoyebi also called for the creation of a direct presidential feedback mechanism through which ordinary Nigerians could communicate with the President without having to pass through multiple administrative gatekeepers.

He proposed a dedicated presidential feedback box or digital portal that would be personally overseen by the President and designed to provide unfiltered information about the performance of government institutions.

Drawing from the experience of former United States President Barack Obama, Atoyebi said President Tinubu could benefit from regularly receiving direct accounts from Nigerians.

He cited Obama’s reported practice of reading letters from ordinary citizens as an example of how leaders could remain connected to the realities faced by people outside government circles.

“By reading 10 to 20 direct communications daily from ordinary Nigerians, President Tinubu would gain raw, unvarnished insights into the performance of his appointees, the pain points of the public, and practical ideas from the ground level,” he said.

The convener further recommended the appointment of a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Policy Coordination to strengthen monitoring and coordination across government institutions.